Standing in any street of Greenway, even in the deepest and most cramped places, as long as you look up at the border area of the city near the direction of the black pine forest, you can see that glowing green.The enchanted wall known as the "Green Forest Barrier", based on the gray-white clinocrystalline rock unique to the southern part of the Empire, inlaid with 30,000 runestone bricks by the hands of elven craftsmen, sheltered the city from being swallowed by the forest, and formed a unique and repulsive cycle of life to ensure that the land in which Greenway is located is completely isolated from the land of the black pine forest, and such a spectacle is the most unique scenery of Greenway.The first-time visitor was of course attracted by the imposing wall, which could be seen from anywhere, but now listening to Evenna's description of the city and the black pine forest, his curiosity was even greater."
The Black Pine Forest is one of the biggest mysteries in the Dragon Empire, and even the Empire's own polymaths can't explain this vast forest, no one knows when this dense jungle, which is equivalent to several provinces, was formed, and it has been entrenched in this land since the Empire expanded its territory to the south," Avenna said as she looked out the car window, admiring the scene, "The vitality of this forest puzzles the elves who call themselves the children of the jungle: whether it is cut down or burned, Black pine forests can recover in a matter of days, and sometimes if you cut down a large tree, it will even start to bud and regenerate under your nose, and the further you go deeper into the forest, the more obvious this abnormal vitality becomes......"
Speaking of this, Avanna paused slightly, and raised her hand to the city buildings in the distance: "You see the city, right?"
Greenway, it was originally part of the Black Pine Forest, but because it was located on the edge, the life cycle was relatively weak, and the Imperial people managed to isolate and stabilize it after great efforts, but if they went deeper, then even the rune stone bricks made by the elves could not stop the erosion of the forest and fight back. ”Charlemagne added: "That's why the Empire has given up on the development of this forest - this forest is like a stubborn dragon, stubbornly guarding its territory, and humans have spent generations and countless financial and material resources only from its claws, Vivien laughed: "It seems that the emperor who claims to have the dragon soul will also be soft on this forest dragon." ”On the other side, hearing such a description, Hao Ren's first thought was, of course, the eldest son.Epic creatures that live inside planets will occasionally poke their tentacles out of the surface, and when they do, they will evolve their tentacles into something resembling a forest or giant tree to camouflage, and plants that evolved from the firstborn's tentacles have similar super life forces, most notably the twisted woodlands of Halletta.But this is Rahrien, a place far from the dream plane, and there can't be any firstborn here—Nolan's planetary scans confirm this.Then the strange vitality of the black pine forest is a little interesting."
In other words, since the vitality of the black pine forest is so strong, why hasn't it covered the entire territory of the empire after so many years?"
Lily asked curiously, "And I saw the green forest barrier just now, it just blocked this section of Greenway, and the forest didn't spread out where there was no barrier." ”"This is the second incredible place in the black pine forest," Avanna smiled lightly, she seemed to be happy to introduce these things, if she was not born a princess in this life, she might also be a five-star tour guide, "the black pine forest is extremely vigorous, if it is destroyed then it will quickly recover, but other than that, it will not continue to expand at all - its scope is fixed, no matter how the weather and geology have changed for thousands of years, it has neither expanded nor shrunk."
Of course, the few pioneers that the Imperials had built at the edge of the forest were the only 'defects' in the forest, but they were insignificant compared to the entire forest, less than a thousandth of its total area. ”"The so-called forest spread is actually just the Greenway people's own statement, and the land they occupy belongs to this forest in the first place."
Charlemagne shook his head, seemingly disdainful of the locals at this point."
Neither enlargement nor shrinking......
Hao Renmo rubbed his chin, revealing a thoughtful expression."
I really don't know how you 'World Tree Temple' usually live, and the degree of isolation is too serious, and you don't even know the famous Black Pine Forest," Avanna shook her head and sighed, "When I first heard your name, I thought you were hiding in the Black Pine Forest, after all, the name of your temple is quite related to the legend of the Black Pine Forest." ”Lily was suddenly aroused by curiosity again: "The legend of the black pine forest?
Tell me, tell me, tell me, ......"
"It's all made up by adventurers and third-rate scholars," Charlemagne waved his hand disdainfully, although he had received an orthodox education in the royal family since he was a child, he also knew about these rumors and legends, but he never disdained to believe them, "The abnormal vitality of this forest cannot be explained by common sense, so many people speculate wildly."
There is a theory that there is a 'spring of the world' in the center of this forest, and that the spring is the origin of all life in the whole world, and its power spreads to form the black pine forest.It is said that by drinking a sip of water from the Fountain of the World, a person can live forever - so there is a companion legend to this legend, which is that His Majesty Brentine is not a dragon soul, but only immortal after drinking the water of the Fountain of the World. ”"There is also a legend that there is a temple in the black pine forest, called the Temple of Life, which is similar to the Spring of the World, but the saying is that you need to pray in the Temple of Life for a night to get eternal life," Avanna laughed, "but everyone thinks that praying in the temple for a night is more troublesome than drinking a sip of spring water, so more people think that it is more reliable to say that it is the Spring of the World." ”Hao Ren covered his head: "Just based on your last sentence, I feel that both of them are not old and reliable......"
"Anyway, they are all legends, neither of them can be trusted," Charlemagne snorted lightly, "Although the black pine forest is a little dangerous, it is not absolutely insurmountable, in fact, after so many generations of efforts, the imperial people have long found several relatively stable paths in the black pine forest, and occasionally there will be brave adventurers who go to the unexplored places in the black pine forest, and there are many people who come back alive, But no one ever found a fountain of life or a shrine.In addition, there are many airship flights that fly over the black pine forest on a regular basis, and it is clear from above that there are no shrines or springs in the forest. ”Hao Ren was still curious about how his group would pass through the woodland since the black pine forest was so miraculous, and then he suddenly realized when he heard Charlemagne mention that there was a road in the forest, but then he was a little curious: "There is a road in the forest?"
Doesn't it mean that the deeper you go in the forest, the stronger the life force, and the traces left by humans will be erased almost instantly?
”"The roads weren't artificially created, they were built in the forest," Avanna explained, "and it's a mystery as well: they have obvious signs of man-made construction, they're paved with stone slabs, they're lit by lights, and even stone houses and the like are on the sides of some of the roads, but those were things that predate the Empire's discovery of the forest."
There is speculation that those are relics of civilization from the previous era, but this speculation is less reliable than claims such as the Fountain of Life......
And there's no way to explain why those roads aren't swallowed up by the forest......"
Hao Ren involuntarily glanced at Vivien.This statement......
Maybe it's the most reliable one."
The story of the black pine forest goes on and on," Charlemagne said to end the conversation, noticing that the convoy was already approaching the green forest barrier, "There are many forks in the black pine forest, and I have planned the best route to the north, if you are really so curious about that forest, then wait and take a good look with your own eyes." ”Although Greenway is a wonderful city to visit, the group apparently didn't spend much time here, and the convoy crossed the central avenue of the city and headed straight for the exit north of the city after completing the formalities.In this direction, the forest is blocked by a grand green forest barrier, and at the base of the great wall open twelve magnificent gates, which are distinctly elven-style, and the towering and elegant doors are inscribed with the glorious deeds of the elven craftsmen and humans working together to build this wonderful city - today, the first human pioneers of the city have long since died, but the elves who carved the "oath on the door" are still working for the city, and their main task is to monitor the changes in the black pine forest on the other side of the city wall, and guarding these gates with human soldiers.Elves with a thousand-year-old lifespan are very loyal to their duties.These graceful creatures with pointed ears are scattered all over the world and are said to have established powerful dynasties, but now the ancient elven empire has become a legend, except for a few small kingdoms that have survived and lived in isolation in the forest, most of the elves have long since integrated into the various human realms, and the elves of the Dragonon Empire are the most complete wave of integration.Probably because there is an immortal emperor in this country, he can understand the various thoughts and living habits of the long-lived elves, and the elves in the Dragon Empire are doing quite well.There are very few people waiting in line to enter the black pine forest, and even the twelve gates are only three of them, and it seems that although the black pine forest is rich in products, the mystery and danger of the forest itself still deterred many people.There are basically three groups of people who dare to enter the forest: the first group is the Greenway natives, who are familiar with the situation on the edge of the forest and rely on the mining of forest ores or rare herbs in certain fixed areas; The second type is the skilled adventurers, who will go a little deeper, and follow the existing roads in the black pine forest to find those strongholds infested by beasts and monsters, they will not leave the forest roads too far, but they can still hunt a lot of cherished prey, and a successful adventure can bring back enough wealth for everyone to squander for half a year; The third category is travelers or caravans, who are ready to take a shortcut from the forest road to the north or west, the main reason for this is to save the high airship fare, after all, unless you are too unlucky to encounter the migration of monsters, as long as you follow the forest road is still safer.The caravan disguised by Hao Ren and his entourage used the third reason to obtain a permit to enter the black pine forest.Since there were not many people in line, the convoy quickly approached the towering gate, and Hao Ren saw Imperial soldiers in black light armor standing in front of the gate, as well as elven rangers in green ranger coats, but the most eye-catching of the gate guards were the black sword knights wearing heavy armor and carrying black mechanical swords at their waists.After all, it is an important town in the south, and it is expected that the Black Sword Knight will personally serve as a gatekeeper.The number of guards who boarded the car to check was not too many, and if they were in trouble, they could also ask Leah to repeat their old tricks to let the soldiers go, so Hao Ren didn't feel any nervousness, just leaned in front of the window and looked curiously at the scenery on the street outside.His gaze was suddenly drawn to several hurried Imperial officials.The Imperial officials were walking past the guard post in the distance, their outfits should all be military attachés, and judging by the respectful salute of the nearby soldiers, they should not be low.These old empires were calm and proud.
The officer looked gloomy now, hurrying past the post while still discussing something fiercely, as if there was an emergency, and seeing this, Hao Ren couldn't help but concentrate on hearing the conversation between them.But just as he was about to do so, Lily, who was sitting in the back of the carriage, had already recounted what she had heard: "All the Black Sword Knights sent to Grey Mountain City have lost contact......
The Earl of Neham refused to respond to conscription orders from the imperial capital......
It can be determined that the position of Grey Mountain City is on the side of Her Royal Highness the Princess......
Signal of war......
That's pretty much it. ”Charlemagne and Avenna looked at Lily in surprise, not knowing what they meant by what they suddenly said: they hadn't noticed the Imperial officials outside, and they couldn't have heard the whispered conversations in the distance."
It seems that the civil war has finally spread to the south," Hao Ren explained in a low voice, "Lily heard a few empires over there.
The officer's conversation, just as you might expect, the Earl of Neuham in Grey Mountain City supported Princess Constance - and may have even killed the Black Sword Knight who went to Grey Mountain City to negotiate. ”"ShhhBut there was a sudden throbbing in his heart, the door that was already close in front of him seemed to be moving away from him, and he felt that some crisis had quietly descended, and this journey that had been smooth so far seemed to be about to get out of control.Hao Ren also noticed the change in the prince, and his intuition was far stronger and more accurate than that of Charlemagne, who was a pure mortal, and a cold feeling made him immediately pull open the cover at the back of the carriage and look in the direction he came.A group of black sword knights in black armor were galloping towards this side.The Imperial soldiers guarding the gate of the green forest had already inspected the caravan, and accompanied by two soldiers, a tall black sword knight walked into the carriage, and from under the pitch-black armor, two cold eyes appeared, scanning everything in the carriage.The people near the gate, both the soldiers and the civilians waiting to pass through, couldn't help but turn their eyes to the ordinary-looking little caravan, or more precisely, their eyes were drawn to the ten black sword knights who were galloping on their horses, and they immediately noticed the target of the ten knights.One of the knights on horseback stepped forward, two red lights shining from under his visor, and he jerked out the black mechanical sword at his waist, the blade emitting heat enough to melt steel in the high-speed vibration, and a low, hoarse roar came from inside the helmet: "Stop those three cars!"
Everyone in the car, kill them!
”In the carriage of the caravan, the body of the Black Sword Knight, who was performing an inspection mission, suddenly froze, and then the position of the eye sockets on the visor lit up with a red light as if burning, and a strong hostility and murderous aura suddenly spread.Leah, who was squinting and pretending to sleep, suddenly opened her eyes and stared at the two red lights on the knight's face armor: "Release!"
”The black sword knight in the carriage trembled violently, he tried to use his willpower to resist this sudden great force, but after resisting for less than a second, the soldier who was still standing beside the knight from his mask had noticed that the situation was abnormal, and immediately questioned: "My lord?
”The roar from outside the carriage became clear: "......
Everyone in the car, kill them!
”The black sword knight who was struggling under Leah's control seemed to have gained infinite spiritual power after hearing this voice, and after a spasmodic violent tremor, he actually forced the hand that had been put down to press the mechanical sword on his waist again, and with a buzzing sound of the activation of the magic guide mechanism, he suddenly drew his sword, and roared angrily and pounced on Hao Ren and his party: "Execution......
Directives!!
”The two Imperial soldiers who had already entered the carriage were only less than half a second slower to react, and after the knight attacked, they also immediately raised their weapons and rushed over with a roar!
Charlemagne stood in front of Evenna with one hand, and already held the saber at his waist with the other: "Stand back, I ......"
Everything happened in the light of lightning, and in the face of the sudden loss of control, Leah could only let out a soft sigh: "Alas......"
In the sigh, all the weapons pointed at her, including the black mechanical sword and the two imperial longswords, quietly turned into ashes.The Black Sword Knight fell straight down, while two Imperial soldiers were blasted out of the carriage by Vivien's lightning ball, and one was pounced on by Lily, breaking several bones and throwing them out.Hao Ren patted the rear guard of the carriage: "Rush over!"
”